Protecting device for armature shafts



July 31, 1956 PEsEK HAL PROTECTING DEVICE FOR ARMATURE SHAFTS Filed June30, 1953 6 gzaeiozi a I, E fi/ g 'qQZZy United States Patent-OPROTECTING DEVICE FOR ARMATURE .SHAFTS Rudolph E. Pesek, Berwyn, andvCharles J. Pesek, Brookfield, 111.

Application June 30, 1953, Serial No. 365,137

Claims. .(Cl. 118503) This invention is-directed to portable devices orracks adapted formounting a pluralityof mechanical or structural partsof devices during the course of manufacture andfor temporarilyprotecting projecting parts of the manufactured articles during theapplication of any one of a variety of coatings or during the subjectionof such manufactured articles to either liquid or vaporous materials.Our devices are adapted for use in connection with protection of partsof the articles regardless of whether the liquid ,or vaporous ,materialis applied by immersion, by spraying, brushingor other manualapplication.

It is an important object of our invention to provid portable devices ofthendescribed 'classiadapted to hold manufactured articles in areleasable means and-so that certain parts of the .article will besealed and protected against contact withvathe liquid; or vaporousmaterial while itis being applied:tortheremainder of the'manufacturedarticles, and it is a further object, byzprotecting certain partsfrom.such'appliedmaterial, to eliminate the labor and time ofsubsequently removing the appliedmaterial from the parts protected byour: device.

A furtherpobject of ;our invention is the. provision of portable racksor holding devices adapted for mounting a plurality of shaft-bearingarmatures or; the like during application by immersionto themajorportion ofthe .armatures 'of liquified materials such as resin,lacquer,

or the, like, the function :of *such liquid. material, when later cooledand solidified, :beingeto protecttherwiring of the'armature or:otherelectric device :against moisture, oxidation and deterioration.

A further object-of our invention is theprovision'of portable rackingdevices ,having asplurality of .upwardly extending holding membersin"the lowenpart thereof-and into which, holdingmembers. aplurality ofprojecting shaft end portions are adapted .to be mountedxby gravity sothat a temporary seal ifxeffected between-theupper ends of said holdingmembers :and portionsof thesmain body of the armature :SO'thfit uponimmersion-into a liquified coating material, the iportionsoftherarmatures within said holding members will :not ;-be subjected. tocontact with the liquified-"material; said devices also having meansyforreleasablyximpinging the armatures -in sealedpositionWithrespect-tmsaidholding members.

Other and; further objects; of our invention {will be apparent from thefollowingmdescri'ption :and appended claims.

This invention in a-preferred-torm is illustr-a ted and described withparticular reference tonthe. armatures of electric motors, though 'itis..to be understoodthatother manufactured structural parts .having.projectingportions to be protected from a liquid material uponimmersion, may be satisfactorily mounted. and held indesiredposb tionduring process of either submersion in a liquid material or in anotherform of application of either. liquid or vaporous material'to theexposed parts-of the articles.

On the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of our device and with ceris 2,756,719 1C"Patented July 31, 1956 tainparts in cross section and with the samemounted ona typical tank or receptacle and illustrating two. armaturesin position.

Fig. 2 is an enlargedcross section view of one of the upwardly extendingshaft end members and a fragment of'the lowercasing, housing or base inwhich saidholders are mounted.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of our device and without any manufacturedarticles mounted on the holding members thereof.

As shown on the. drawings:

Referring to Fig. 1, numeral 10 designates'an elongated casing, housingor enclosed base defined by bottom and side walls and by a substantiallyelongated upper wall 11 in which a plurality of spaced apart openings orapertures are formed. Said mounting base or casing 10 is preferablyrelatively long and shallow, though its :depth and proportion may varyaccording to the type and, size of the projecting portions ofmanufactured articles to be mounted with respect to same. 'One of thepurposes of said mounting base which forms a relatively rigid portion ofour portable rack is to provide a completely enclosed and scalablespaceor chamber in which the lower endlportions of the articles to bepartially protected and shielded from a liquid or vaporous bath mayproject.

Reference numeral 12 designates a metal vent pipe whose lower endportion is suitably secured, for example by welding in an aperture 13formed preferably in the intermediate portion ofthe upper wall 11. Saidvent pipe 12 extends upwardly a suflicient distance sothat its openingwill be Well above the surface of any liquid bath into which the deviceis placed. Said vent or breather pipe 12 allows expanding heated air toescape from within the chamber of the casing 10, both during immersionand during the subsequent baking which hardens the resin. Such escape ofair prevents breaking of the seal between tape 21 and sleeves 18.

Numerals 14 designate a pair of suspension and connecting metal rodswhose lower ends are suitably secured, for example, by threadingengagement in the opposite ends respectively of the upper metal wall 11.A, The upper ends of said rods or bolts 14 are threaded and are adaptedto be relatively mounted in suitably spaced openings in an elongatedmetal crossbar 15, said releasable securance being preferably'by meansof a pair of wing nuts 16 as illustrated in Fig. 1.

Washers or stop lugs 17 illustrated in Fig. 1 are preferably mounted onthe upper ends of theconnecting-rods 14 in fixed and secured positionsat the lower end-ofthe upper threaded portions of rods'14 so that thesame act as a stopping or limiting means against thevfurther descent ofthe crossbar 15. This permits the wing nut16 to be tightened by hand andso that the samewill. be under tension, the said stop washers 17 formingthe resisting elements against further movement of cross bar 15 in anormally downwardly direction. I desire it .to be understood that otherequivalent releasable fasteningelements may be utilized in substitutionof the wing nuts-16 and the threads on the rods 14-to releasably mountthe carrying and cross bar 15 with respect to'the upper nortions of theconnecting rods or bolts '14.

The cross bar 15 is preferably'made of flat metal straps or bands and ofa length substantially longer than the length of the base 10, saidlength also being suchthat the opposite projecting ends maybe restedupon and supported by either the side walls orthe end walls of a tank orreceptacle which is adapted to containtheproper depth of liquid materialto which the manufactured articles are to be subjected either byimmersion or other manual application.

A plurality of metal sleeve-like or tube-like mounting and holding means18 are mounted in longitudinal spaced positions in spaced apart holesformed in the upper wall 11 of the base or housing and these are securedin perpendicular and normally upwardly extending position by eitherwelding as indicated at 19 or optionally by threading engagement withside Wall 11. The distance between the respective holding members 18 mayvary in a wide range and be of such distance to provide ample clearanceand spacing between the projecting and exposed parts of the armatures orother mechanical articles or structures which have an enlarged bodyportion and a projecting reduced portion. In other words, the smallerthe maximum dimension of the manufactured articles, the closer therespective holding members 18 may be mounted so that more of sucharticles may be treated or coated in a holding rack or with a base of agiven size.

The upper end portions of the holding members 18 are exteriorly beveledto provide a substantially sharp annular edge 20 on each thereof, and sothat the inner circumferential face of said holding members extendsstraight downwardly from the relatively sharp annular edges asillustrated in Fig. 2. In the manufacture of armatures for electricmotors and generators the metal shafts of the desired length anddiameter have first applied to their intermediate portions (for adistance slightly longer than the combined length of the armature bodyand the commutator segments) a suitable insulating tape 21 which isspirally wound about the intermediate portions of such armatures so thatsuch tape will provide an insulation between the inner subsequentlywound wires and the shaft. The insulating tape 21 is wound on sucharmatures so that a small part of the endmost convolution of such tapewill be exposed beyond the end portion of the body of the armature, asillustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. The inside diameters of the holdingmembers 18 may be substantially the same, though very slightly greaterthan the diameters of the shafts or projecting parts of the armatures ormechanical structures to be mounted so that the projecting parts to beprotected during the application of a liquid material will fitsubstantially snugly into the holding members 18, though with sufficientclearance to permit insertion and withdrawal of the armatures by hand.

pulleys, gears or the like.

It has been found that the application of either a liquid resin or otherprotecting coating to the projecting portions of the shafts 23a,simultaneously with the application of such protecting coating to thewires of the armatures themselves, necessitates the laborious andtimeconsurning work of subsequently removing the hardened resin coatingor other hardened protecting material from one projecting end portion ofshaft edge armature.

When those propecting portions of the armature shaft which are oppositethe commutator-carrying portion are inserted and allowed to rest bygravity in the respective bevelled holders 18, the annular bevellededges 2i will slip partially under the edge of the projecting part ofthe insulating tape 21 in the manner illustrated in Fig. 2 and so that atemporary seal is formed between the bevelled edges 20 of holders 18 andthe tape 21 on each of said armatures, this preventing the entry of theliquid resin or other liquid coating or treating material which maycompose the bath or liquid mass into which the armatures are partiallysubmerged.

Said armatures 22 are mounted in said holders in the described mannerwhile the cross bar 15 is removed. After an armature has been mounted insaid manner in each of the respective holders 18, the cross bar ismounted upon the connecting rods 14 and the nuts 16 are screwed tight onthe threaded ends of rods 14 and thereupon the rack and the mountedarmatures are ready for immersion or for other manual application of theliquid material to the exposed parts of the armatures or to desiredportions thereof.

In the manufacture of armatures, it is desirable that the relatively hotliquid resin or equivalent moisture-resistant material be applied to thewires of the armature and accordingly the vertically positionedarmatures mounted in the manner described and with the cross bars 15preferably impinging upon the upper end of the armature shafts 23, beimmersed in the hot resin bath only to a depth so that the hot liquidresin will run into the spaces between the wires of the armatures andcoat itself upon such wires and so that such resin material will notcontact the commutator bars or segments or the uppermost ends of theshafts-23. After the armature bodies have been immersed for a short timein a body of said liquid resin or other protective coating materialwhich is of the type adapted to harden in normal room temperatures, theentire rack is withdrawn from the body of the liquid material and thesurplus liquid material allowed to drip off, and in normal practice, thesaid racks holding said armatures or parts are mounted on suitablebrackets of an oven and then baked until the resin will harden upon thewires and the armature body to form a firm moistureresistant andinsulating coating thereon.

The individual armatures may be withdrawn by hand from the holdingmembers 18 either as soon as the rack has been withdrawn from the ovenor after the resin has partially or fully hardened.

It will be understood that the said rack and holding members may berepeatedly reloaded with either armatures or with other structural partswhich have rounded projecting portions extending from a major bodyportion so that when the projecting portion is inserted into the holdingmembers 18, a temporary seal will be provided between the bevelled ends20 of member 13 and the major body portion of the article and so thatthe liquid coating or protecting material will be thereby prevented fromcontacting the projecting reduced portions within the holding members18.

In instances where the armatures or other articles mounted in the rackas aforesaid are immersed into a relatively hot bath, the transfer ofheat from the bath through the walls of the base or casing 10 will heatthe air within said casing 10 to cause its expansion. Therefore, it isadvisable to provide a means for permitting the escape of a portion ofsuch heated air so that such expanded heated air will not force itselfupwardly through the respective holding members 18 and through thespaces between said holding members and the shaft portions 23a andthrough the seal between the upper bevelled end portions of said holdingmembers and either the tape 21 or the enlarged body portion of thearticle in instances where no such projecting tape is present. Theforced escape of heated air through the temporary seal would cause aleakage and entry of part of the liquid coating and protecting materialthrough such temporary seal, and this is prevented by the provision ofan air vent means exemplified by the vent pipe 12 which extends upwardlya suflicient distance to always have its outlet above the mass of heatedliquid material into which the rack and its held articles are immersed.

We desire it to be understood that our novel rack and holding means maybe satisfactorily used for temporarily shielding and protecting theprojecting portions of various manufactured and merchandise articlesother than armatures and also in instances where the liquid material tobe applied to the exposed parts of such manufactured articles is appliedin the form of a spray, for example a spray gun from which lacquer,paint, enamel or other protecting and treating material is to be appliedto the exposed parts of the manufactured articles.

The use of our novel holding and protecting means such as described inthe aforesaid example saves a considerable amount of labor and costswhich have otherwise been necessary in the usual dipping of armaturesand other articles into a liquid type of coating and protecting materialand which necessarily must be subsequently removed from portions of theshaft of the armatures or from portions of the manufactured articleswhich require contact and remounting with other structural andmechanical parts.

As many changes could be made in the above construction, and as manyapparently widely different embodiments of my invention within the scopeof the claims could be constructed without departing from the spirit andscope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in theaccompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative and notin a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. In a device for protecting projecting parts of mechanical structuresduring applications of coatings to portions of such structures; anelongated apertured cross bar; an elongated base comprising a housinghaving closed ends and having a plurality of upwardly opening aperturestherein; a plurality of upwardly extending connecting bars having theirlower ends connected to said base, the upper ends of said connectingbars being threaded and removably mounted in apertures of said crossbar; a plurality of metal cylindrical tube-like holders mounted in saidbase and spaced longitudinally thereof, said holders being exteriorlybevelled at their upper ends to present relatively sharp annular edges,said holders being adapted to receive the projecting portions ofmechanical structures which are to be protected during application ofprotective coatings to the remaining and exposed parts of saidmechanical structures, said bevelled upper edges of said holders beingadapted to engage and form a seal with the normally exposed parts ofsaid mechanical structures.

2. In a portable device for protecting the projecting portions of shaftsof armatures or the like during the step of immersion of such armaturesin a body of hot liquified moisture resistant material; an elongatedcasing having a substantially flat upper wall; an upwardly extendingbent pipe mounted in said upper wall and being of a length to extendabove a receptacle into which said device is positioned; a plurality ofcylindrical mounting members mounted in spaced apart relation in saidupper casing wall; each of said mounting members having its upper endbevelled; the bevelled portions of each of said mounting members beingadapted to have the projecting end portion of an armature shaft mountedtherein to provide a seal with said armature shafts; an elongated crossbar having projecting ends adapted to be positioned on stationaryobjects during the immersion of said armature; and a plurality ofconnecting rods secured at their lower ends to said casing and havingmanually removable connection means on their upper ends adapted toreleasably connect said rods to said cross bar, said vent pipe having anupper portion extending above the top of a receptacle into which saiddevice is immersed to permit escape of air from Within said casing.

3. In a portable device for protecting the projecting portions ofmechanical articles during the step of applying liquid compositions toportions of said articles; an elongated base comprising a closed housingand having a substantially flat upper face; a plurality of cylindricalmounting members mounted in spaced apart relation in said upper face ofsaid base; each of said mounting members having its upper end of annularshape; each of said mounting members being adapted to have theprojecting end portions of a mechanical article mounted therein wherebythe upper end portion of each of said mounting members will engage andform a temporary seal with the larger portion of the mechanical articleto thereby protect the inserted portion of such article from contactwith a liquified material during application of said liquid material tothe exposed portion; an elongated cross bar having projecting endsadapted to be positioned on stationary objects during the application ofsaid liquid material; and a plurality of connecting rods secured attheir lower ends to said base and having manually removable connectionmeans on their upper ends adapted to releasably connect said rods tosaid cross bar.

4. In a device for protecting projecting parts of mechanical structuresduring applications of coatings or liquid materials to portions of suchstructures; an elongated apertured cross bar; an elongated housingproviding a base and having closed ends and having a plurality ofupwardly opening apertures therein; a plurality of upwardly extendingconnecting bars having their lower ends connected to said base, theupper ends of said connecting bars being removably connected to saidcross bar; a plurality of metal cylindrical tube-like holders mounted insaid base and spaced longitudinally thereof, said holders being bevelledat their upper ends, said holders being adapted to receive theprojecting portions of mechanical structures which are to be protectedduring application of protective coatings or materials to the remainingand exposed parts of said mechanical structures, said bevelled upperedges of said holders being adapted to engage and form a seal with thenormally exposed parts of said mechanical structures.

5. In a device for protecting the projecting portions of mechanicalstructures which include an enlarged body portion; an elongated hollowmetal housing having an apertured substantially flat upper wall; anupwardly extending air vent pipe communicatively connected to said upperwall of said container and being of a length to extend above the top ofa receptacle into which said device is positioned, an aperturedelongated metal cross bar having its opposite ends projecting outwardlyand adapted to be positioned upon the opposite portions of a receptacleor the like; upwardly extending connecting rods secured to the upperwall of said container and being removably connected to said cross bar;a plurality of upwardly extending spaced apart tube-like article holderssecurely mounted in the upper wall of said container and extendingupwardly a sufficient distance to form a protective enclosure forprojected parts of the mechanical structures to be partially coated,said holders being adapted to protect said projecting portions against aliquified coating and being adapted to form a temporary seal at theareas of engagement thereof with the enlarged portions of saidmechanical structures; said cross bar and connected container andholders providing for immersion of a plurality of mechanical partspartially mounted in said holders and into a body of liquified coatingmaterial within a tank.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS293,374 Swift Feb. 12, 1884 930,129 Beausejour et al Aug. 3, 19091,012,192 Corkery Dec. 19, 1911 1,978,290 Arthur Oct. 23, 1934 2,264,703Lenz Dec. 2, 1941 2,327,410 Ferguson Aug. 24, 1943 2,352,857 NachemovJuly 4, 1944 2,559,958 Herts et a1. July 10, 1951

